''Night Plane from Chungking'' (also known as ''China Pass'' and ''Sky Over China'') is a 1943 American

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, directed by

Ralph Murphy Ralph Murphy (May 1, 1895 – February 10, 1967) was an American film and television director. Born in Rockville, Connecticut, Murphy was active in films from 1931 through 1962, with some work in television. From 1941 to 1944 he was married to ...

, and produced by Michael Kraike and Walter MacEwen from a screenplay by Lester Cole, Earl Fenton and Theodore Reeves, adapted by Sidney Biddell from the 1931 story by

Harry Hervey Harry Hervey (November 5, 1900 – August 12, 1951) was one of the most highly sought screenplay writers of the first half of the 20th century, praised by critics of literature, stage and screen. Early life Harry Hervey was born on November 5, 19 ...

. The film stars Robert Preston and

Ellen Drew Ellen Drew (born Esther Loretta Ray; November 23, 1914 – December 3, 2003) was an American film actress. Early life Drew, born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1914, was the daughter of an Irish-born barber. She had a younger brother, Arden. Her ...

, with

Otto Kruger Otto Kruger (September 6, 1885 – September 6, 1974) was an American actor, originally a Broadway matinee idol, who established a niche as a charming villain in films, such as Hitchcock's ''Saboteur''. He also appeared in CBS's ''Perry Mason'' a ...

and Stephen Geray. ''Night Plane from Chungking'' was a remake of Paramount's earlier film '' Shanghai Express'' (1932). The film was remade as ''

Peking Express ''Peking Express'' is a Dutch–Flemish reality game show that follows a series of couples as they hitchhike to or from Beijing (only in the first three seasons; seasons four and five are set in South America). The series has already gone throug ...

'' (1951).

Plot

In 1942, during the Japanese invasion of China, due to the carelessness of one of the passengers, Albert Pasavy (

), draws attention from Japanese bombers overhead, to a bus travelling to India along a muddy road. The Japanese bomb the road, hitting a munitions truck carrying Chinese troops. The Chinese officer in charge, demands his wounded be put on the bus and brought to a secret air field. Among the stranded passengers met by U.S. pilot Nick Stanton ( Robert Preston), are a beautiful Red Cross nurse, Ann Richards (

), and her traveling companion, Madame Wu (Soo Yong), who is on a secret diplomatic mission. There is also Countess Olga Karagin (Tamara Geva), who is caught spying. Nick and his co-pilot, Captain Po (

Victor Sen Yung Sen Yung, later known professionally as Victor Sen Young (born Sen Yew Cheung; October 18, 1914 – c. November 9, 1980); one source lists his given name as Victor Cheung Young with the birth year 1915)) was an American character actor, best kn ...

), are ordered to fly the remainder of the passengers out to safety in India, but the transport aircraft is intercepted by Japanese fighter aircraft and shot down. Nick makes an emergency landing in a jungle. Over the radio, Nick learns that Olga has committed suicide, but the spy was trying to get top-secret information to her superior, who is still among the passengers. Another of the passengers, Doctor Van der Linden ( Stephen Geray), goes missing, but returns with food he claims comes from a nearby monastery. The doctor leads everyone on a long hike to the monastery, only to reveal there that he is a Nazi collaborator working with the Japanese. He demands to know where Olga is, not knowing she is dead. All the survivors are captured and held at the monastery. It is up to Nick to try to come up with an escape plan. He convinces Van Der Linden to allow Po to repair the aircraft and to allow the hostages to be exchanged for Olga. A coded message is sent to Nick's headquarters, but the Nazi soon finds out that Olga is already dead. After Pasavy betrays the others and is coldly shot, Nick kills Van der Linden. With Japanese troops in pursuit, Major Raoul Brissac (Ernest Dorian) sacrifices himself to save the others by pulling the pin on a grenade, killing himself along with the Japanese. Nick, Po, Ann and Madame Wu then fly to safety. Having fallen in love, Nick and Ann vow to reunite after the war.

Cast

* Robert Preston as Captain Nick Stanton *

as Ann Richards * Stephen Geray as Doctor Ven Der Lieden *

as Albert Pasavy *

as Captain Po *

Tamara Geva Tamara Geva (russian: Тамара Жева, born Tamara Levkievna Zheverzheeva, russian: Тамара Левкиевна Жевержеева; 17 March 1906 – 9 December 1997) was a Soviet and later an American actress, ballet dancer, and ch ...

as Countess Olga Karagin *

Soo Yong Soo Yong, (, originally Young Hee (楊喜); October 31, 1903 – October 29, 1984) was a Chinese-American actress. She acted in twenty-three Hollywood films and numerous television shows, mostly in supporting roles. Among them were '' The Good ...

as Madame Wu * Ernest Dorian as Major Raoul Brissac * Angel Cruz as Japanese soldier * Allen Jung as Lieutenant Tang * Leonard Strong as Lieutenant Karuma *

Lee Tung Foo Lee Tung Foo (also known as Frank Lee) was a Chinese American Vaudeville performer born in California who performed in English, German, and Latin.

as Bus driver

Production

Principal photography on ''Night Plane from Chungking'' took place from mid-August to September 11, 1942.

Reception

In his review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Thomas Pryor noted that ''Night Plane from Chungking'' made an attempt to be topical. "For this is another in the growing list of Hollywood melodramatic exercises in which the war is dragged in simply to give an old story formula a semblance of freshness. In this case Paramount even stretched a point in labeling the film 'Night Plane From Chungking', for it is by the merest of coincidences that the characters get aboard a transport plane on their way to the Indian frontier, and at that they are quickly shot down by a squadron of Japs."Pryor, Thomas M. (T.M.P.
"Movie review: 'Night Plane from Chungking' (1942), at the Rialto."
''The New York Times'', May 31, 1943. Retrieved: January 5, 2016. Film historian Alun Evans in ''Brassey's Guide to War Films'', considered ''Night Plane from Chungking'' "just another variant on 'Shanghair Expres', this time in the air."Evans 2000, p. 139.

References

Bibliography

* Evans, Alun. ''Brassey's Guide to War Films''. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. .

External links

* * * * {{Ralph Murphy 1940s war drama films Paramount Pictures films American black-and-white films Remakes of American films American aviation films Films directed by Ralph Murphy Films set in China Second Sino-Japanese War films American war drama films 1943 drama films 1943 films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films